Aquaman’s Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is in talks to play Candyman

Credit: Nerd Reactor

Audiences saw Yahya Abdul-Mateen II in action when he portrayed Black Manta in James Wan’s Aquaman, the DC film starring Jason Momoa. Soon, they will get to see him again as the popular horror icon, Candyman. The actor is still in talks with the deal expecting to close. The new Candyman film will be a “spiritual sequel” with Jordan Peele (Get Out) serving as a producer.

Nia DaCosta (Little Woods) is attached as the writer and director, with MGM and Win Rosenfeld producing alongside Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions. The movie is reported to be a “spiritual sequel” and will take fans back to the neighborhood of Chicago. Times are different, and the Cabrini-Green housing project is now gentrified.

Tony Todd (CW’s The Flash, Chuck) played the original Candyman, which was released back in 1992. It followed a graduate student researching urban legends, leading her to the discovery of Candyman. Legend has it that if you look in the mirror and say his name five times, he will come to kill you with his hook, which is jammed on his right arm’s bloody stump. The character was the son of a slave who became wealthy. His romance with a white woman will lead to his death by the hands of the lynch mob. The film spawned two sequels titled Candyman: Farewell to the Flesh in 1995 and Candyman: Day of the Dead in 1999.

Candyman is scheduled to hit theaters on June 12, 2020.

Besides Aquaman, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II can also be seen in Netflix’s The Get Down and the upcoming horror film, Us, from director Jordan Peele and HBO’s Watchmen series.

In the meantime, you can check out our previous interview with Yahya Abdul-Mateen II where he talks about returning to a possible Aquaman sequel, his time on the set of Aquaman, Jason Momoa being a big teddy bear, wearing the Black Manta armor and helmet, and more.